Defensive coordinator John Pagano located the man he'd seen multiple times during the game, ran over and gave him a hug.

Coach Mike McCoy found the boy who made a prediction 11 months earlier and, with his left arm around his left shoulder, shared a walk to midfield.

For the Chargers, Thursday's result was sweet. For two fathers and sons, the ending made it even better.

McCoy had 11-year-old son Luke on the sideline, and Pagano had his father, Sam. The two coaches reflected Friday on a 27-20 win that saw McCoy's team save its playoff chances on the road in large credit to Pagano's defense.

It was Pagano's unit that, after watching film Friday, McCoy said meant the most to him in the win.

Denver was 2-of-9 on third down. It rushed 11 times for 18 yards. It went three-and-out on three straight possessions for only the second time this season, the sequence followed by a four-and-out. And only 296 yards all game, a season low.

"That is a very good offense," said McCoy, its coordinator as recently as 2012. "It's one of the best in the history of football through 13 weeks and then 14 weeks now. They are very explosive and very efficient. We all know who Peyton Manning is; he is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The game plan that John Pagano put together and the way the players executed it is out of this world."

Mike, despite suggestion to the contrary, is not the predictor in the McCoy family.

It's his son.

Back in January, when McCoy became Chargers head coach, his son had a request. When San Diego played Denver in the regular season, on whatever date that game would be, he wanted to be there.

He wanted to be there to see the win.

"That is the one thing he wanted to do,” McCoy said Friday. “He wanted to go to Denver with me, and we were going to beat Denver. From day one, that's what he wanted to do. From day one.”

On Thursday, Luke was there, inside the winning locker room. McCoy stood in front of the players and coaches, emotional when re-telling the story to the group.

It is not unusual for Sam Pagano, a legendary now-retired high school football coach in Colorado, to be on the visitor's sideline when the Chargers are in town. But he usually escapes the cold by game's end, watching the conclusion elsewhere.

He stayed Thursday for the whole thing.

Pagano interacted with his father during the game. Once, he gave him a playful nudge when Sam stood by the heater. More often, he'd look his dad's way, and Sam would return with a thumbs up or clap.

"It's just one of those moments; it's unbelievable to see," said Pagano, to whom McCoy gave a game ball following the short-week win along with offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and special teams coach Kevin Spencer. "He got us in this profession, my brother (Colts coach Chuck Pagano) and I. ...

"To see him down there, it's an honor. To be able to hug him after something like that, ... it was a great moment."